This invention relates to devices commonly know in the art as air machines, and in particular, a coin vault for a coin operated device to protect collected money against theft.
The present day gasoline station is usually self service where patrons do their own servicing, including filling their vehicle with gasoline and checking the oil and other fluids. These "gas and go" stations are manned by one attendant who does not leave a secured building where patrons pay for purchases. Most of these stations have self service air pumps and vehicle vacuums. It is not unusual for a station owner to charge for these services, therefore, there are coin operated mechanisms which control the time of use of the air pumps and vacuums.
As would be the case, for every honest means for making money, there is a group of thieves and misfits who plot and work to steal from cash boxes of unattended self service equipment. As shown by the volume of patented art on cash vaults for self service equipment this is not just a recent problem. However, today the problem is magnified with the number of self service gas stations. The most recent U.S. patents on coin vaults for self service equipment are Heraty, U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,700, Volk, U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,214 and Halsey et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,501. Of these patents, Heraty is interesting in that it is a coin vault for a vacuum machine in a car wash service station. Other that the field of the invention, Heraty or none of the other patents known to the inventor are similar to the present invention. A common problem with the prior art is that the coin boxes have been secured by lock and key exposed to exterior tampering or forcing action.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a coin vault assembly in which the lock is protected from tampering or forced actions.
Another object of the present invention is a coin vault built into the base of an air machine and recessed into the base to protect against tampering or forced actions.
Still another object of the present invention is a coin vault having an impregnable heavy steel construction including a removable door that once installed provides no openings or edges for tampering or forced action by tools and the like.
A still further object is that all components but the compressor are in the device for easy access.